Guy Madison
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He was born Robert Ozell Mosely in Bakersfield, California. He attended Bakersfield Junior College for two years and then worked briefly as a telephone lineman before joining the United States Coast Guard in 1942. In 1944, while visiting Hollywood on leave from the Coast Guard, his boyish good looks were spotted by a talent scout from David O. Selznick's office and he was immediately cast in a bit part in Selznick's Since You Went Away. Following the film's release in 1944, the studio received thousands of letters from fans wanting to know more about him.
He was signed by RKO Pictures in 1946 and began appearing in romantic comedies and dramas but his wooden acting style hurt his chances of advancing in films. In 1951, television came to the rescue of his fleeting career when he was cast in The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, which ran for six years.
Following his television series, he appeared in several more films, mostly westerns, before leaving for Europe, where he found greater success in spaghetti westerns.
He was married to actresses Gail Russell (1949-1954) and Sheilia Connolly (1961-1963). Both marriages ended in divorce. He has four children - three daughters and one son.
Guy Madison died from emphysema in 1996 and was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery (Cathedral City) near Palm Springs, California.
Personal life
There are some rumors that Madison may have had homosexual leanings. According to Hollywood biographer Lawrence J. Quirk, Mike Connolly, gay gossip columnist for the Hollywood Reporter from 1951 to 1966, "would put the make on the most prominent young actors, including Robert Francis, Guy Madison, Anthony Perkins, Nick Adams, and James Dean. Quirk said there was rampant gossip at gay parties regarding not only Connolly's escapades with these actors but also a noteworthy pornography collection he would display to those he favored."See Val Holley, Mike Connolly and the Manly Art of Hollywood Gossip (2003), p.22."Talent agent Henry Willson, ... serving for a while under David O. Selznick, had a singular knack for discovering and renaming young actors whose visual appeal transcended any lack of ability. Under his tutelage, Robert Mosely became Guy Madison, Arthur Gelien was changed to Tab Hunter, and Roy Fitzgerald turned into Rock Hudson. So successful was the beefcake aspect of this enterprise, and so widely recognized was Willson's sexuality, that it was often, and often inaccurately, assumed that all of his clients were gay."Richard Barrios, Screened Out: Playing Gay in Hollywood from Edison to Stonewall (2002), p.168.
Notes
External links
- Walker, Brian J. Guy Madison at Brian's Drive-In Theater. [link] Retrieved February 15, 2005.
- [Guy Madison's biographic sketch] at Find A Grave
See also: Other notable figures in Western films
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